Summary

Orphaned sisters Sabrina and Daphne are sent to live with their mysterious grandmother, Relda Grimm, who lives in a town in rural New York State that experiences an extraordinary number of unexplained and unusual crimes. In this book, the girls are pitted against a giant who has been rampaging through town. But who set the giant loose?

Author Notes

Michael Buckley was born in Akron, Ohio in 1969. After graduating from Ohio University, he moved to New York City to be an intern on the Late Show with David Letterman which led to stints developing programming for Discovery Networks, MTV, MTV Animation and Klasky Csupo. He writes The Sisters Grimm series and the N.E.R.D.S. series. After working for David Letterman he moved into a television production job where he worked on documentaries. Michael Buckley and his writing partner Joe Deasy have created an animated series for Cartoon Network called Horrorbots.

Booklist Review

Gr. 4-6. After their parents disappear, sisters Daphne and Sabrina Grimm are placed with a grandmother they have never heard about. Sabrina, the eldest, is highly suspicious; why didn't their parents mention Granny Relda? She grows more concerned once they arrive at Relda's home in the New England town of Ferryport Landing, where Relda serves emerald-green meatballs in rooms lined with books about magic. Then Relda reveals the truth: the Grimms are descended from the famous storytelling brothers, and Ferryport Landing is a magical town, populated with "Everafters," characters straight from fairy tales. After Relda goes missing, it's up to the girls, and their new magical friends, to rescue her and stop a corrupt politician--a well-cast Prince Charming. Buckley's debut novel gets bogged down in labored world building and sometimes stilted prose, but the wild parade of magical folk in the gleefully fractured fairy tales (Snow White teaches school; the Three Little Pigs are policemen) may draw some fans. A second volume in the Sisters Grimm series, The Unusual Suspects,0 is also available. --Gillian Engberg Copyright 2005 Booklist

Publisher's Weekly Review

Buckley's imaginative if meandering debut children's book launches the Sisters Grimm series, a contemporary tale starring two descendents of Jacob and Wilhelm. Sabrina, 11, and seven-year-old Daphne, whose parents have mysteriously disappeared, go to live with their grandmother Relda Grimm. This jolly, big-hearted woman resides in a small town on the Hudson River built by the "Everafters," characters from fairy tales who (thanks to a 200-year-old spell) are trapped in the town until the last Grimm dies. When a giant's footprint is found near a crushed farmhouse, Relda tells her granddaughters that whoever unleashed the giant must possess a magic bean (even though the woman "thought we had accounted for all of them"). While Relda and her companion, Mr. Canis, attempt to solve this mystery, the giant snatches them and holds them captive. During the siblings' quest to rescue the duo, they are either helped or hindered by a host of familiar characters, including Prince Charming, mayor of the town; Shakespeare's Puck; and Jack of beanstalk fame, who is determined to kill not only the giant but the sisters-to end the curse. Buckley fills his tale with ample comical flourishes and plot twists, and readers will enjoy identifying favorite characters. Yet the narrative sometimes moves at a sluggish pace. Still, the novel's good-natured inanity and eccentric personalities may well inspire kids to join the sisters in their next sleuthing mission, The Unusual Suspects (0-8109-5926-7). Ages 8-12. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

School Library Journal Review

Gr 4-6-Michael Buckley starts off with a bang in this energetic book (Abrams, 2005). Daphne and Sabrina Grimm have been tossed from one bad foster home to another after the disappearance of their parents. Now the grandmother they had been told was dead has sent for them. Naturally there's a measure of distrust, and it only increases when their new home of Ferryport Landing starts getting stranger and stranger. The girls soon learn they are from THE family Grimm, and their new home is full of "Everafters"-fairy-tale and other literary characters who are held in this town by the existence of the Grimms, and who are not necessarily happy with the situation. When Grandma is kidnapped by a giant, the girls must suspend their disbelief and go to her rescue, using whatever magical tools come to hand. But in a world of pixies, witches, and giant-killers, finding a trustworthy companion might be a problem. This is a wild ride with a corrupt Prince Charming, the Three Little Pigs in charge of the police department, and a wise-cracking Puck who may or may not be on their side. Facing problems together stretches the girls' ingenuity, and brings all the Grimms closer, while setting the stage for the next book in the series. L.J. Ganser reads the story with good pacing and a lot of verve, creating different voices and accents for the characters and bringing Buckley's story to vivid life. Listeners will enjoy the fast-paced action and grin at the humor, while delighting in the chance encounters with characters they should recognize from other stories. This definitely bodes well for the rest of the series.-Teresa Bateman, Brigadoon Elementary School, Federal Way, WA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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